Work support



Feb. 21, 1939. w. L. MaCKENZIE 2,147,744

WORK SUPPORT Filed Dec. 23, 1936 wlw f/mx a Patented Feb. 21, 1939 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE WORK SUPPORT Application December 23, 1936, Serial No. 117,365

4 Claims.

The present invention relates to work supports and is hereinillustrated as embodied in a work support for holding a shoe, the end portions of which have been lasted, for the side-lasting operation, and particularly for side lasting by hand with the aid of lasting pincers. The illustrated device is adapted to hold the side portions of an upper against its last while cement is applied to the upper, lining and insole tosecure the upper in lasted position. Heretofore in side-lasting uppers and securing them in lasted position by means of cement it has been the usual practice to support the last on a bench spindle, then to pull up a portion of the upper at one side of the last and to hold the upper so tensioned by pressing it firmly against the last with one hand while laying the lasted margin of the cement-treated lining upon the margin of the insole with the other hand, then applying cement to the lining and the upper, and laying the overlasting margin of the upper upon the overlasted margin of the lining. This is a very tedious operation and it is extremely difficult to prevent the cement which is applied between the upper and lining from flowing down into a portion of the upper which is exposed in the finished shoe and leaving a stain thereon.

Objects of the present invention are to provide a work support which may be employed in connection with the side-lasting operation above described to relieve the operator of the duty of pressing the upper against the last with his hand while applying cement to the lining and upper and also to provide means for holding the upper and lining firmly against the last in order to make it impossible for the cement which is applied to the upper and lining to flow downwardly into a portion of the upper which is exposed in the finished shoe.

With the above objects in View the illustrated device which constitutes a preferred embodiment of the invention consists of a work support having presser members conformable to any and all lasts and constructed and arranged to engage opposite portions of an upper on its last and carriers for the presser members which are so constructed and arranged that they cause the presser members to hold the upper against the last without altering the position of the upper on the last. The upper-engaging portions of the illustrated presser members are sufficiently flexible to permit them to conform to the periphery of the last as they are brought into engagement with the upper and are adapted to press the side portions of the upper firmly against the last throughout their entire length. The presser members are forced against the last by the operation of an actuator which imparts opposite movement to the presser carriers to bring them into engagement with the upper and then applies equal pressure to the carriers thereby to cause the presser members to press the opposite side portions of the upper firmly against the last.

These and other features of the invention will now be described with reference to the accompanying drawing and pointed out in the appended claims.

In the drawing,

Fig. 1 is a perspective view of a bench device embodying the features of the present invention, and

Fig. 2 is a cross-sectional View showing part of a last and a lined upper held against the last by one of the presser members illustrated in Fig. 1 and illustrating also a cement brush whereby cement is being applied to the margin of an insole on the last bottom.

The invention is illustrated as embodied in a bench machine comprising a base Ill having at one end an upward extension It on which there is slidably mounted an angular bracket M which carries a plate Hi which is adjustable lengthwise of the last 18 and is secured in adjusted position by a clamping screw Zii which extends upwardly through a slot (not shown) in the bracket l4 and into a tapped hole in the plate Hi. The bracket [4 has a vertical tongue and groove connection to the extension l2 and is clamped thereto by a hand screw [5. For supporting the heel portion of the last l8 and preventing turning movement thereof about its longitudinal axis the screw 20 is extended upwardly from the plate 15 for engagement within the thimble hole of the last. For supporting the forepart of the last and the upper thereon there is provided a toe post 22 which is slidably mounted in a hollow boss 24 projecting upwardly from the base It! and is clamped to the boss by a screw 26 mounted in the boss. To facilitate adjustment of the toe post 22 for lasts of difierent height the toe post is urged upwardly by a compression spring 28 which is seated at the bottom of the opening in the boss 24 and bears against the lower end face of the toe post. When it is desired to adjust the toe post to a particular last the clamping screw 26 is released, thus permitting the spring 28 to move the toe post upwardly, and a last is positioned on the work support and its forepart is pressed downwardly by the operator to position it relatively to clamping devices hereinafter described, whereupon the toe post is clamped in the posi tion in which it is thus located.

For pressing against the opposite sides of the forepart of the last, the forepart of an upper such, for example, as the upper 36 illustrated'in Fig. 1, the illustrated work support is provided with presser members herein illustrated as resilient bands 52 the opposite ends of which are secured to the ends of bent crossheads 34 and the central portions of which are supported by pins 36 which are slidably mounted in bosses 38 projecting upwardly from the crossheads 34 and are seated in suitable sockets provided in the central portions of the bands 32. Compression springs 40 in the bosses 38 operate against the ends of the pins 36 to press the central portions of the bands 32 against the upper. It will be seen that the illustrated presser members are so constructed that they can be conformed to the peripheries of any and all lasts by merely bringing them into engagement with uppers on their lasts. The crossheads 34 are swiveled at the upper ends of vertical arms 42 the lower ends of which are pivotally mounted between ears 44 projecting outwardly from opposite sides of the base iii. For moving the arms 42 toward each other in order to press the bands 32 against the upper 30 a treadle 46 is pivotally mounted in a bracket 48 secured to the floor beneath the bench 50 on which the work support is mounted. The treadle 36 is connected. to the arms 42 by a link 52 extending upwardly from the treadle through suitable openings in the bench 5D and the base l5 and pivoted at its upper end to links 54 which are pivotally mounted between ears 56 projecting inwardly from the arms 42.

The illustrated work support may be employed advantageously in connection with cement sidelasting of shoes. In accordance with one method whereby this operation may be performed, an upper which may or may not have previously been toe lasted and heel-seat lasted, as illustrated in Fig. l, is positioned in the illustrated work support. Preferably the toe post 22 has been so adjusted that the presser bands 32 will engage opposite sides of the upper 3i in regions adjacent to the everlasting margin 58. That is to say, the upper surfaces of the presser bands will preferably be positioned substantially in the plane of the exposed face of the insole on the last bottom when said bands are in upper-engaging position, as illustrated in Fig. 1. After the presser bands have been brought into engagement with the upper, cement is applied to the margin of the insole, for example by means of a brush 60 (Fig. 2) and cement is also applied to the inner surface of the overlasting margin of the lining 62. The operator then tensions the lining heightwise of the last with lasting pincers and presses the everlasting margin downwardly against the in- Sole with his fingers and pounds it lightly to cause the lining to adhere to the insole. Cement is then applied to the exposed surface of the overlasted margin of the lining and to the inner surface of the overlasting margin of the upper. The operator will not need to exercise special care to prevent the cement from flowing downwardly between the lining and the upper and staining portions of the upper which will be exposed in the finished shoe since the presser bands 32, as illustrated in Fig. 2, hold the upper and lining firmly against the last and the insole and leave no space between the lining and the upper through which cement might flow. After the overlasting margin of the upper has been cemented it is tensioned heightwise of the last, as was the lining, and bent over upon the overlasted margin of the lining and pounded to cause it to adhere thereto.

It will be understood that the utility of the illustrated Work support is not limited to the supporting of shoes for the cement side lasting operation above described but other operations may be facilitated by the use of the illustrated work support.

Having thus described my invention, what I claim as new and desire to secure by Letters Patent of the United States is:

1. A work support comprising resilient presser members conformable to any and all lasts and constructed and arranged to engage opposite side portions of an upper on its last adjacent to the bottom of a last or of a sole thereon, carriers on Which said presser members are swiveled for movement substantially in the plane of that portion of the last bottom in the region of which they operate on the upper, said carriers being constructed and arranged to maintain the presser members in the position relatively to the upper which they occupy when they come into engagement therewith, and an actuator for simultaneously advancing the presser members and pressing them against the upper.

2. A work support comprising means for supporting the heel portion of a last and holding the last from turning movement about its longitudinal axis, resilient presser members arranged to extend lengthwise of the last at opposite sides thereof and to operate on separate areas at opposite sides of an upper on the last, said presser members being constructed and arranged to engage the upper adjacent to its overlasting margin, cross heads on which the presser members are mounted, swinging arms arranged to extend generally heightwise of the last for movement generally widthwise thereof, said arms having the cross heads swiveled on their free ends for movement substantially in the plane of that portion of the last bottom adjacent to which they operate on the upper, and an actuator for imparting opposite movement to said swinging arms to bring the presser members into engagement with the upper and to urge the presser members against the opposite sides of the upper.

3. A Work support comprising a base plate, a column projecting upwardly from the base plate, a bracket mounted on the column and vertically adjustable thereon, a slide on the bracket and adjustable thereon lengthwise of a last on the work support, a last pin carried by the slide, swinging arms mounted in the base plate for movement widthwise only of the supported last, and resilient presser members swiveled on the swinging arms and arranged to engage portions of an upper on the last adjacent to the last bottom.

4. A work support comprising a base plate, a column projecting upwardly from the base plate, a bracket mounted on the column and vertically adjustable thereon, a slide on the bracket and adjustable thereon lengthwise of a last on the work support, a last pin carried by the slide, swinging arms mounted in the base plate for movement widthwise only of the supported last, resilient presser members swiveled on the swing: ing arms and arranged to engage portions of an upper on the last adjacent to the last bottom, a treadle, and connections from the treadle to the swinging arms for simultaneously moving said arms toward each other.

WILBUR L. MACKENZIE. 

